SPORTS

I

t was postponed, canceled,
then rescheduled twice
because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Originally on the calendar
for June 8, 2020, the 30th
annual Hank Greenberg
Memorial Golf and Tennis
Invitational finally was held
last month at Tam-O-Shanter
Country Club in West
Bloomfield.
For the Michigan Jewish
Sports Foundation, which
organizes and hosts the invi-
tational as a fundraiser for
cancer research and treatment,
Aug. 23 ended a long journey
filled with detours.
“It felt great to finally hold
the invitational, and it was
very successful,” said Larry
Sherman, a vice president
on the foundation’s board of
directors.
“The weather was picture-
perfect, there was a good
turnout [140 golfers and eight
tennis players], and the cama-
raderie and food were out-
standing.
“It was a great day,” he said.
It certainly was a great day
for Hadar Granader. He finally
was able to accept the Barry
Bremen Memorial Inspiration
Award for his family and for
Camp Mak-A-Dream.
“It was the first time I went
to the Greenberg event. I was
very impressed with how well
it was organized,” Granader
said.
“It was nice to see members
of Barry Bremen’s family there,
and they were so warm and

friendly. It was an honor to
represent them in receiving the
award.”
For those at the invitational
who didn’t know about Camp
Mak-A-Dream, they know
about it now.
“I talked with several people
who said they didn’t know
about the camp or didn’t know
my family’s involvement,”
Granader said.
Founded in 1995, Camp
Mak-A-Dream is an expense-
free summer camp in Gold
Creek, Mont., for children
across the world who are bat-
tling or have survived cancer.
The camp normally plays
host annually to about 80
youths in each of four or five
sessions, with a total of 75
to 80 youths coming from
Michigan.
The camp has been held
virtually for two years because
of the pandemic. About 100
youths participated this year.
How is a summer camp held
virtually?
“Say the kids are doing a
craft with clay,” Granader said.
“They’re sent the clay and the

instructor teaches them what
to do with it on Zoom.”

Granader is president of the
Michigan chapter of Camp
Mak-A-Dream. His broth-
er and sister-in-law, the late
Beverly Hills residents Harry
and Sylvia Granader, donat-
ed 87 acres of their Montana
ranch to create Camp Mak-A-
Dream.
Harry Granader was a build-
ing contractor. He helped build
the Ronald McDonald houses
next to Detroit Children’s
Hospital of Michigan and Mott
Children’s Hospital in Ann
Arbor.
Visits with children in those
hospitals sparked his idea for
Camp Mak-A-Dream.

GIBBY AND GOOSE
MISS A MEET-UP
Hall of Fame relief pitcher
Goose Gossage was present-
ed the Greenberg Lifetime
Achievement Award at the
invitational.
“Goose was very entertain-
ing and quite cordial with our
guests,” Sherman said.
Gossage was supposed to

share the stage last year in the
popular sports panel segment
of the invitational — hosted
annually by ESPN’s Jeremy
Schaap — with former Detroit
Tigers star Kirk Gibson, who
hit a famous home run off
Gossage in the 1984 World
Series between the Tigers and
San Diego Padres.
Gossage and Gibson, how-
ever, didn’t cross paths last
month at Tam-O-Shanter.
“Unfortunately, Kirk’s annu-
al benefit golf outing was held
the same day as the invitation-
al,” Sherman said.
CBS News and 60 Minutes
correspondent Armen
Keteyian was supposed to
accept the Dick Schaap
Memorial Award for Media
Excellence at the invitational.
He couldn’t make it to Tam-
O-Shanter because he was
unable to travel from the East
Coast after it was battered by
Hurricane Ida.
“Hopefully, Armen will be
able to come to next year’s
invitational,” Sherman said.
Sherman said there are
hopes the invitational will
return to its normal June date
next year.
As for the foundation’s
annual fall Michigan Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame induction
banquet, which was canceled
in 2020 because of the pan-
demic, it could return in a vir-
tual format this year, Sherman
said.

Please send sports news to

stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Camp Mak-A-Dream shares Greenberg Invitational
spotlight with Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage.
14-Month Wait Pays Of


STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Hadar
Granader
from Camp
Mak-A-Dream
at the Hank
Greenberg
Memorial Golf
and Tennis
Invitational

MICHIGAN JEWISH SPORTS FOUNDATION

28 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021